Responding to media queries on the India-Maldives relationship getting strained after Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted photos of his visit to Lakshadweep on X, All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge blamed Mr. Modi for the controversy stating that the latter is habituated to taking everything personally.
“Mr. Modi takes everything personally. First of all, we must maintain cordial relations with our neighbours. If the situation warrants, we must also be prepared to fight them, just as the former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi fought Pakistan and liberated Bangladesh. We cannot change our neighbours. It is always better to maintain friendly relations with them. If they turn aggressive and threaten our sovereignty, we must be prepared to fight to ensure the safety and integrity of our country. When issues can be settled peacefully through negotiations, it is not advisable to show aggressiveness,” Mr. Kharge told media representatives in Kalaburagi on Tuesday.
Differences within Opposition
To a question on the differences within INDI alliance, Mr. Kharge, who leads the bloc, said that efforts are on to ensure the unity of the alliance and show collective strength.
“There is no sense in talking against each other. My request to all members of the alliance is that they should continue to show unity and work together just as they have been doing all these days. I am confident that the unity will continue and the bloc will perform well in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. We will put all our efforts collectively and teach a lesson to the BJP,” he said.
Asked about seat-sharing among the bloc members, Mr. Kharge said that the process is already on at the regional level.
To a question on the Enforcement Directorate’s ongoing raids on seven locations linked to Uddhav Thackarey faction leader and MLA Ravindra Waikar, Mr. Kharge said that it is a deliberate action to threaten Opposition leaders.
“The BJP government conducts raids on the premises of Opposition leaders on the charge that they have black money. When the same leaders join the BJP, such charge simply vanishes and such leaders emerge clean. Threatening Opposition leaders and then grabbing them onto their side is not good. Congress leaders Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Rajiv Gandhi and P.V. Narasimha Rao never threatened their political opponents. Why is this happening in your [Mr. Modi] regime? How will the corrupt become clean just as they join your camp? It is not good to say that they are bad people when in our party and good people when in your party,” Mr. Kharge said, terming the “threat tactic as a dictatorial tendency”.
Asked whether the bloc will announce guarantee schemes for the Lok Sabha elections, Mr. Kharge said that some new programmes will have to be announced.
“We will announce some welfare programmes that are acceptable to all members of the alliance. We are more concerned about the welfare of the people. In a democracy, politicians have to think of people’s welfare. We are concerned about unemployment, inflation, depreciation of rupee, skyrocketing prices of essential commodities,” he said.
